Reminisce [ A Niall Horan OU ]

iiii. if you haven't found somebody

One corner of his mouth lifts up in a lopsided, sleepy smile at her as he lifts his arm, dragging her across the small space and into his chest. Meera tucks her face into his neck and pushes her hand under his shirt, scratching his back as he buries his face into her hair.

Just like always, Meera's exactly what he needs.

***

After that, Niall gets his shit together once again. He cuts the girl out of his life for good, toasting to the endeavor with Meera, and focuses in on golf and writing his new album. Awards season comes up and he finds himself in touch with the other girl, his friend. The two spend more time together than ever before, it's natural and easy — two things Niall desperately needs. While Meera is off putting the finishing touches to her wedding, Niall's found himself what initially was a distraction, but is now  on the brink of becoming something more.

Healing and time are funny like that, they go together seamlessly — intertwined and supportive of one another.

But heartbreak, well, heartbreak is best dealt with alone. For musicians and celebrities alike — it's no secret that luxury is rarely available to them with the microscopic focus on their lives. Everyone has some experience with bad press, but Niall never expected Meera to be a spectacle in the news.

This time, he doesn't find out through the news.

No, she's knocking at his door at 3am, too drunk to remember she has a key or where the hell she left her phone. She doesn't pay much attention to the fact that there's another car in Niall's driveway, one she doesn't recognize.

When he opens the door, she stumbles through it and he's quick to catch her.

"Meera? What the fuck? Why're ya knocking?"

It's only when Niall straightens her out that he sees her face is flooding with tears. Her hands shake as she settles them on his forearms. Her bottom lip quivers and she forces it into submission, digging her teeth hard into it. But that's not what concerns Niall the most, it's the fact that she can't look him in the eye.

"Love? What's wrong? Hey-" Niall is cut off because Meera starts sniffling and then there's a whimper and to his dismay, her entire face falls and she's crying again. From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like she's stopped for longer than a few seconds all night. 

He pulls her into his chest, bare because he was in a hurry to see who was pounding on his door. His hand cups the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her soft locks as she cries. The tears soak into his skin, trailing down from her hiding spot against his neck and into his chest hair. He kisses the side of her head fiercely. He considers moving them into the house but she's alarmingly warm, practically on fire, and the cold air is probably keeping her as calm as possible.

Maybe it's the quake of her sobs that vibrate from her body to his, or the way she looked so devastated, or perhaps most simple of all — the fact that he hates to see her cry and  Niall feels his throat clog up. His heart is pounding, but he's at a loss of words to calm her down. He's never seen her this upset in their entire 5 year friendship.

He does what he can, trailing his fingers soothingly through her hair, down her spine and up again. The occasional reassuring kiss, the mumble in her ear that he's got her. After what seems like forever, she gathers enough strength to pull back, wiping miserably and harshly at her face.

"Did I wake you?"

"No," Niall assures her, pushing her hands aside to wipe her tears with his own gentle touch. "What's going on?"

The question pushes Meera to start crying again but Niall watches as she holds her ground, even if her voice is trembling.

"Alex... broke up with me," she says.